Crime Novels of the Roman Empire

Caveat Emptor published in North America

I’m delighted to say that Bloomsbury have now sent out the first copies of ‘Caveat Emptor’, Ruso and Tilla’s fourth adventure, so it’s possible that Santa may be delivering one or two very shortly.

Here’s another shot of the cover (because it’s so lovely). Clicking on it should take you to the book details on the publisher’s website.

Apologies to British readers, who will have to wait a little longer. I understand the Easter bunny is currently welcoming pre-orders for our edition – ‘Ruso and the River of Darkness’. I’ll update the blog as soon as I have more details.

Hi Judith. I have to admit that the two titles thing isn’t ideal – hope it hasn’t caused you too much confusion.
Merry Christmas from England, where it’s a pleasure to imagine somewhere without the white stuff.
Ruth

I came across the first of your books by accident on the Barnes & Noble website, ordered it, and was so delighted by the story and your wonderful writing style that I’d ordered and read the other two in short order. The new one’s on order, delayed by the holiday of course, but should hopefully be here sometime next week. I’m looking forward to seeing where Ruso and Tilla end up next.

Just finished the book today. Another well written mystery/detective novel with great characters and lots of intriging plot lines. You are really good at this Ruth. Equal to any other author I have read (and I read a lot. I was wondering if you have any other series or individual books in mind? I do look forward to reading what you come up with next.

Thank you Jeff!
There will be two more Ruso books, so at the moment I’m concentrating on getting the first one of those sorted out, but I am mulling over ideas for other things. We’re temporarily living by the seaside, surrounded by inspirational scenery, and I’m sure there’s a novel to be written about it – I just haven’t worked out what it is yet.
Ruth

Hi Ruth, I really enjoy your books and always look forward to reading them but why are there two titles, one for US books and one for the UK, it’s very confusing. It would be so much simpler to have ‘a title!’ Is it the publishers idea?

Absolutely, John. I’m sorry about the confusion. I can’t tell you how much simpler my life would be if there were only one title for each book.

This started way back with the first novel when the editors on either side of the Atlantic (working for separate companies) couldn’t agree on a title which they each felt would work for their own readers. Being hopeless at titles, I had nothing helpful to offer and as a new author I certainly didn’t feel I should be telling publishers how to sell books (I still wouldn’t, except over this). Having different titles did seem a bit odd, but other people have done it.

To be honest I don’t think any of us realised the complications that would ensue when the Internet, and especially the mighty Amazon, made every edition visible – if not available – to everybody. By the time it became clear, the publishers had headed off in different directions and it was too late to do much about it except run around the Net trying to make it obvious which book was which. Basically, that’s why I set up the blog.

Believe me, if there’s ever a chance of fusing the titles without causing more problems, I will grab it with both hands.

I just finished Caveat Emptor in the Kindle edition on my iPad. It was an enjoyable read. I really appreciated the way you built the mystery one layer at a time. Tilla reminds me of out cat Tilly who seldom does what she’s told to do.

Thanks for this – I’m glad you enjoyed ‘Caveat Emptor’ and yes, we have a cat like that too…

Good question about the ebooks, which set me wondering, so I have just been trawling through the contracts. After much exploration of clauses and subclauses I can now give you a firm answer – I don’t know.

Sorry to be so vague, but at least I’m not alone. The money side of ebooks is longstanding topic of debate between authors’ agents, publishers and sellers. Contracts have to be drawn up but in the absence of a crystal ball, nobody yet knows how large a cake will be there to share out. Or indeed, given the complications of different formats, which cupboard the cake will be found in. We live in interesting times!

In my personal opinion (not that it’s worth much), you should get paid the same. After all, there are no printing, binding, shipping books, maiing costs, etc. etc. Once the ebook is scanned and is out there, distribution is very low cost. Amazon just announced they sell more Kindle books than hard copy ones. As I understand it, very few writers are like J. K. Rowling and get rich selling their work. Maybe someday authors can sell their work directly without a publisher.

Yes, the publishing world is changing very fast, and sidestepping the publisher is a real possibility now. However, writers who go down that route have to know what they’re about. I’d desperately miss the input of editors, copy editors, proofreaders, cover designers etc., all of whom contribute to the quality of the book, not to mention the publicists who try to make sure people know it exists. I guess one could hire all these people for oneself, though…

It’s a brave new world, and for Amazon to be selling more Kindle than hard copy in such a short space of time is simply amazing.